Some may be wondering why all of a sudden we are producing bylaws. Well, it really isn’t all of a sudden. Actually we have been prayerfully looking at this process since we started 5 years ago. Every non-profit organization is legally required to have by-laws. They are to protect the body, give parameters, state beliefs and structure, and people and processes for handling various issues that may arise. Bylaws tell who will deal with issues and decision making. They are not designed to complicate and muddy up the waters, but to give guidance, accountability and structure…and for the church, to do so based on God’s Word.

We have operated as a church under the bylaws of our parent churches as a mission church. That has been our legal status. However, in order for us to constitute and become a fully autonomous church, we must have our own. Most churches do so within 3 to 5 years of starting. As we are completing our 5th year, we need to put these things on paper. Much time prayer and council of advisors inside and outside the church have gone into this process. Honestly, I wanted them to be simpler, but as we looked at what other churches just like us had done, we felt like we needed to fully cover all aspects of the church and any potential issues that might some in the future. It’s part of the maturing process. Hopefully we will never have to draw upon most of the guidlines spelled out in these proposed by-laws, but they are there if we need to go to them to find out how to decide and handle issues that may come up. They are also a framework for future leaders of The Ridge to build on years from now.

So are we gonna build some beurocratic organization here? No. Definitely not. The church is an organism. But even an organism has to have a skeletal system in order to stand properly. Jesus is the head of this body. We are it’s members. We are gonna stay simple and focused on the vision God has for His church @ The Ridge. We are gonna remain obedient to the calling He has given all of us as His body. And we are gonna do what we legally have to, in order to be recognized as a non-profit.

So that’s why we felt it was time to propose formal bylaws. And by the beginning of our next fiscal year, in the fall, we hope to finalize this process.